The Outsourcing Week in Review: Wednesday, March 13, 2019

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THE WEEK IN REVIEW

The Philippine IT-BPO market is on course to hit US$48 billion in revenues by 2023, according to a study by global market intelligence firm, Ken Research. To service such growth, the country will need to build an inclusive and IT-savvy workforce, and it was good news to read that the laws protecting female workers have substantially improved in the country, according to the World Bank. Already, BPO-created jobs have been a major contributor to the nation’s declining unemployment, according to economist Michael L. Ricafort at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. However, to grab the opportunities, the local BPO industry will need to adapt to take on new, higher skilled services. Christian Lauron, a partner in the advisory practices of SGV, says that middle office BPO services could be such a sector, historically shunned by the industry due to the high levels of IT and financial expertise required.

Another key initiative will be expanding the industry out of the National Capital Region, which is already a work in progress. This week, the Department of Trade and Industry made a visit to Iloilo City to seek ways to help the city’s existing BPO locators, and attract new investors. In Cebu City, BPO and IT firms are among those being targeted by the Latitude Corporate Center, a new 24-story building under construction. Johndorf Ventures Corp is also building the 21- storey Johndorf Tower in Cebu Business Park.

With so much new office space being developed in the city, it is reassuring that the Cebu government is rolling out 19 new buses that will provide free transportation for workers in the industry. Meanwhile back in Manila, workers at BPO firms in Eastwood in Makati City are expected to be among the first to benefit from Megaworld Corp’s plan to bring its shared workspace operator, WeWork, into its townships in both the capital and the provinces.

There were also a couple of major management moves last week. Accenture announced the hiring of Caspar Schlickum as regional managing director for Asia-Pacific and Peter Kolster Hansen as managing director and worldwide lead for its Next-Generation Content Services. Infosys said it has promoted Anand Swaminathan to executive vice president from his role as head of communication, media, and tech business.

In other overseas activities, Accenture has unveiled plans to acquire Ireland-based life sciences firm Enterprise System Partners. Voxpro, another Irish BPO company, announced its aspiration for an initial public offering in the near future. In Florida, a high level delegation of ICT technology stakeholders from the Philippines joined the Annual Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Conference to promote the country’s services. In Australia, according to reports, trade unions are expected to increase pressure on a newly elected Labour government to take steps to discourage companies outsourcing their jobs to other parts of the world.

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

NEWS THIS WEEK

11 March 2019

• Ireland’s Voxpro eyeing potential IPO – read more…
• BPO sector among contributors to lower unemployment rate – read more…
• DTI seeks more BPO offices in Iloilo – read more…

8 March 2019

• BPO workers in Philippines to benefit from arrival of WeWork – read more…
• Accenture to acquire Enterprise System Partners – read more…
• Latitude Corporate Center to house BPO and IT firms – read more…

7 March 2019

• Philippine BPO sector seen to sustain growth – read more…
• Johndorf Tower to open to BPO firms – read more…
• Infosys names new EVP, global head of energy – read more…

6 March 2019

• Accenture hires Caspar Schlickum, Peter Kolster Hansen – read more…
• 19 more buses to offer free rides for BPO workers – read more…
• Australian unions want call center jobs to stay in country – read more…

5 March 2019

• Philippine ICT officials, firms join health info conference – read more…
• BPO workers should keep up with AI, automation – official – read more…
• Philippines’ working environment for women gets high rating – read more…

Read more Inside Outsourcing Newsletters here:

1. The Outsourcing Week in Review: March 6, 2019
2. The Outsourcing Week in Review: March 20, 2019